PlantHere

Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Baldwin's Ironweed

Vernonia baldwinii
native · Hill Country

Baldwin's Ironweed is a perennial wildflower native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–5 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms pink and purple in Jul–Nov. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds and butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Baldwin's Ironweed against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

The facts

5 sources
Type
Perennial wildflower
Sun
Full sun (6–8 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Low
Height
3–5 ft
Spread
2 ft
Bloom
Jul–Nov · pink, purple
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, limestone, loam, moist, rocky, sand, well drained
Deer
High — deer rarely browse it
Wildlife
Supports birds and butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaLimestone Cut Plain

891 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.